Thou Wast Mild and Lovely
| Thou Wast Mild and Lovely | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Josephine Decker |
| Produced by |
Laura Heberton Laura Klein Interests Lavalette Russell Sheaffer |
| Written by | Josephine Decker |
| Starring |
Joe Swanberg Sophie Traub Robert Longstreet |
| Music by |
Molly Herron Jeff Young |
| Cinematography | Ashley Connor |
| Edited by |
David Barker Josephine Decker Steven Schardt |
| Distributed by | Cinelicious |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely is a 2014 experimental thriller film written and directed by Josephine Decker.
Cast
- Joe Swanberg as Akin
- Sophie Traub as Sarah
- Robert Longstreet as Jeremiah
- Kristin Slaysman Drew
- Matt Orme as Caren
- Geoff Marslett as Richard
Production
To raise money for the film's post-production,[1] Decker ran a crowdfunding campaign on the website Kickstarter with a goal of $15,500. The campaign closed on August 22, 2013, having successfully raised $18,517.[2] Decker has cited John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden as inspiration for elements of the film, though David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter has compared the visuals of the film to the works of Terrence Malick.[3]
Release
Media
In September 2014, Thou Wast Mild and Lovely was picked up for theatrical and VOD distribution by Cinelicious Pics along with Decker's 2013 film Butter on the Latch with a release set for November 2014.[4][5] The films are now available on iTunes, Fandor, Amazon and Vimeo-on-Demand in the US, on Amazon and iTunes in the UK and on VOD in Italy.
Reception
Critical response
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely received a positive response from critics. Richard Brody of The New Yorker highly praised the film, saying "Like most classic stories, this one is simple, but its realization is so surprising in its details, so original in its visual invention, as to make most other movies seem shot by the numbers." and "Normally it would be an insult to say that a movie that runs a mere hour and a quarter feels as if it were much longer, but here it’s both accurate and high praise: vast realms of emotional experience are condensed into the movie’s brief span."[6] In a subsequent New Yorker piece, Brody named Thou Wast Mild and Lovely the second best film of 2014, just behind Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Brody also lists Thou Wast Mild and Lovely actor Robert Longstreet as "Best Supporting Actor"; Ashley Connor in "Best Cinematography". Decker's other 2014 film, Butter on the Latch, also made the Brody's top ten, clocking in at tenth place.[7] Subsequent to its Berlinale 2014 premiere, Peter Knegt of Indiewire called Thou Wast Mild and Lovely "The talk of the Berlin International Film Festival… with tense eroticism and experimental, largely free-form filmmaking".[8] Josh Slater-Williams of Sound on Sight calls Thou Wast Mild and Lovely "one of the strongest, most striking American Gothic works of recent memory."[9] In his review of the film, Eric Kohn of Indiewire gave the film a B+ rating and commented, "Its labyrinthine characteristics suggest the unholy marriage of Ingmar Bergman and David Lynch" and "Decker concocts a wholly enveloping vision of isolation told with a grimly poetic style that wanders all over the place but never stops playing by its own eerie rulebook."[10] Jenni Miller of The A.V. Club moderately praised the film and described Sophie Traub's Sarah as "fascinating", despite noting "There are a few too many experimental flourishes to effectively build the sort of tension that’s necessary to really make the ending pay off."[11] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times gave the film a more mixed review, noting "The setup’s clichés grow harder to ignore, despite a welcome mischievous streak and some bucolic imagery."[12] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "It’s not uninteresting but too self-consciously arty to rank Decker as a mature filmmaking voice."[3]
Accolades
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely premiered in the U.S. at the Sarasota Film Festival, and internationally at Berlinale 2014 in the Forum section. Remarkably the film played Berlin the same year along with another feature film written and directed by Decker, Butter on the Latch. Subsequently Thou Wast Mild and Lovely has played at AFI Fest, London BFI Film Festival, Torino International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, Goteborg International Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Starz Denver, Dallas VideoFest, Flyway Film Festival, Sidewalk Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, BAMcinemFest and Imagine Film Festival in the Netherlands.
The film was nominated for the FIPRESCI prize at Hong Kong International Film Festival, and has won awards on the festival circuit, including Dallas VideoFest Winner 2014: Best Narrative Feature, Sarasota Film Festival 2014 Winner: Independent Visions Grand Prize & Tangerine Entertainment’s Juice Award, Flyway Film Festival 2014: Breakout Filmmaker, Indie Memphis Film Festival 2014: Craig Brewer Emerging Filmmaker Award. It was acquired by Cinelicious Pics in fall of 2014.
References
- ↑ Barraclough, Leo (January 24, 2014). "New Europe Picks Up Berlinale Film ‘Thou Wast Mild and Lovely’". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely". Kickstarter. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- 1 2 Rooney, David (February 6, 2014). "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely: Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Cipriani, Casey (September 5, 2014). "Cinelicious Pics Acquires Two Raunchy Josephine Decker Films". Indiewire. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Horst, Carole (September 5, 2014). "Josephine Decker’s ‘Butter’ and ‘Lovely’ Bought by Cinelicious". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Brody, Richard (February 13, 2014). "Pay Attention to Josephine Decker". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ↑ Brody, Richard (December 11, 2014). "The Best Movies of 2014". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Knegt, Peter (February 11, 2014). "Berlinale Breakout: Josephine Decker On Her Much Discussed Festival Double Feature". Indiewire. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
- ↑ Slater-Williams, Josh (October 23, 2014). "LFF 2014: ‘Thou Wast Mild and Lovely’ is wild and creepy". Sound on Sight. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
- ↑ Kohn, Eric (February 6, 2014). "Berlin Review: Sexual Depravity Takes On Nightmarish Proportions In Josephine Decker's 'Thou Wast Mild and Lovely,' Starring Joe Swanberg". Indiewire. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
- ↑ Miller, Jenni (November 13, 2014). "Butter On The Latch and Thou Wast Mild And Lovely make an eerie double feature". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
- ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (November 13, 2014). "‘Butter on the Latch’ and ‘Thou Wast Mild & Lovely’ Open". The New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2014.